Partners in Crime
by lostandmisplaced
Summary: Travis likes Katie's friend. And Katie likes Travis' friend. What happens when these two decide to put their differences aside and help each other achieve love? Will they both win over the hearts of their crushes or will the lines get blurred between themselves. Tratie. Rated T for language.
1. Partners in Crime

**Prologue**

"Katie." Travis smirked stepping in front of me.

"Hell no." I said doing a 180 and walking in the other direction.

"What! You don't even know what I was going to say." Travis protested, following me like a lost dog.

"I don't need to." I retorted. I learned the hard way it was best to stay clear of him at all cost.

"What was it I was going to tell Colton…" Travis trailed off and I froze.

I could feel Travis standing behind me. "I suppose I could tell him Katie's in love with him." Travis whispered in my ear. "That could make some interesting dinner conversation."

I whipped around fear in my eyes."How?! Why?!"

_How did he know? I'd only told Nikki and Claire._ I shot him a death glare. "Did Nikki tell you?" _I'll kill him. I'm going to kill him. The gods will forgive me, hell the gods will thank me._

Travis cracked up laughing. After a few moments he composed himself wiping away an imaginary tear. "Katie, you're an open book."

My face flushed.

"Anyways I have a business proposition for you." Travis said looking serious.

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You like Colton and I like…" He put a hand on my shoulder and turned me to face the beach. It was the end of the summer and it seemed like everyone was at the beach.

"I like her…" Travis pointed to a familiar blonde.

"You like Nikki!" I practically screeched at him.

"Hush." Travis clamped his hand over my mouth. "I honestly had no idea you were this slow Katie." He smirked at me.

_So I like Travis' best friend, and he likes my best friend… You don't think…. Surely he doesn't want me to…_

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Travis nodded.

"So you want me to help you hook up with Nikki…" I said slowly taking it in.

"And as thanks I'll help you get Colton." Travis nodded a mischievous glint in his eyes.

_True, I hated Travis. But I was going nowhere with Colton and Colton and Travis were brothers after all…_

"I want to say yes." I bit my lip feeling guilty. _I didn't want to sell my best friend to Travis. I wouldn't wish that fate upon anybody._

Travis rolled his eyes. "It's not what you're thinking you know. We'll just be helping each other, it's not a guarantee. Mostly we'll just... create more opportunities for each other." He nodded.

"Well I guess that'd be alright." I replied after some thought.

"Then it's a deal." Travis stuck out his hand a wicked smile on his face.

Hesitantly I shook his hand.

_It's just a deal with Travis… _ I assured herself. _So why do I feel like I sold my soul to the devil?_

**Meh I don't really like this chapter that much. But I have good plans for this story and hopefully it's going to get a lot funnier and romantic. Hint hint. **

**Side note I have ACT's tomorrow. Wish me luck!**


	2. Mastermind

**Thanks for so many reviews guys! It really does help me write faster. And feedback and criticism is always welcome. **

"So do you just want me give you the sheet…?" Katie asked me.

"Well yeah, gotta start somewhere."

_**Camp Halfblood Survey**_

_**Name: Nicole "Nikki" Taylor  
Age: 15**_

_**Parent: Daughter of Apollo  
Hometown: New York  
Height: 5 feet 3 inches  
Weight: 105 pounds  
Race: White  
Eye Color: Blue  
Hair Color: Natural Blonde  
Distinguishing features: 3 moles on my back in the shape of a triangle.  
Style: Punk rock  
Favorite Sayings: It ain't over till the fat lady sings. You can take that to the bank. That's wonky.  
Flaws: Excessive curiosity, impulsiveness, lack of self-control, oblivious to surroundings. **_

_**Fears: Dark, ghost, horror movies, spiders, anything paranormal. **_

_**Hobbies: Music. I play lots of instruments. But my favorite is the drums.**_

_**Favorite Bands: My Chemical Romance, Green day, Blink 182, Fallout boy, Red Jumpsuit Asparagus, Sex Pistols, The Offspring, Plain White T's, Pierce the Veil, anything except country. **_

"There isn't anything helpful on there." Katie sighed.

"Are you kidding me this is gold!" I grinned. "It's perfect."

"Yeah… cause you really needed to know her weight to get her to fall in love with you." Katie rolled her eyes dumping the rest of the surveys in the trash.

"Had to ask the whole freaking cabin to fill out this…" She grumbled under her breath.

"Stop your whining. Victory is in sight!" I fist pumped. "To the headquarters!"

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… cause I definitely know where that is."

"Well aren't you in the only one left in your cabin?" I asked.

"Yeah, Miranda left yesterday." She nodded.

_Katie didn't have very many siblings. Demeter doesn't get around too much…Neither do any of her children. _

I laughed out loud.

"Why does it have to be my cabin?" Katie pouted.

"Because…My cabin is always filled with people. Plus Colton is my half brother, what good is the headquarters if the enemy can infiltrate." I stuck my tongue out flopping on a bed.

"You had to choose my bed." Katie glared grabbing her pillow and beating me with it. "Why do we have to work together?" She frowned, thinking to herself.

I stole the pillow from her. "The ends justify the means." I assured her flipping on the TV.

"Sweet, it's Pirates of the Caribbean!" I grinned. "Seriously, have you seen Kiera Knightly in this movie. She's smoking."

"We're supposed to be planning." Katie flicked my head sitting down next to me.

"I already have a plan for you." I shrugged turning up the volume.

"Really?" Katie grinned taking the remote from me. "Tell me, tell me."

"You're really quite childish." I rolled my eyes returning my attention to the TV.

Katie turned it off.

"No fair!" I made a grab for the remote.

"No way." Katie jumped to another bed holding the remote up in the air. "Tell me the plan first."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Psh. You need me more than I need you. I'm the whole mastermind of this operation. Years of pulling pranks have given me excellent planning skills and a devious mind." I smirked. "You are nothing without me."

Katie narrowed her eyes at me. "If that's how you feel… Then I guess I'll just go talk to Nikki." A slow smile spread across her face. "Oh my gosh, Nikki you wouldn't believe this but I just caught Travis watching porn!" She giggled walking to the door and opening it.

"I NEED YOU KATIE!" I yelled attaching myself to her ankle.

"Let go!" She said opening the door and taking a step outside and dragging me with her.

"I NEED YOU!" I yelled again. Some wandering campers looked over and gave us a weird look.

"Shut up, idiot!" Katie quickly shut the door. "Do you know what people are thinking now?" She asked me exasperated.

I got up stealing the remote from her. "I'm still more important than you." I said flopping back on the bed.

Katie used a few choice swear words as she huffed over to me. "Now you listen here Stoll." She demanded in her bossy voice.

I don't like her bossy voice much.

* * *

"What was that?!" I asked Katie.

"Get… Off… Of… Me!" She said in between breaths.

I bounced up and down on Katie's stomach. "I'm sorry I can't hear you over the sound of how hot Kiera Knightly is." I laughed.

"You're crushing me!" I looked down at Katie. She was pretty helpless. It was great.

"I'll get off on one condition." I said nonchantly watching the TV.

Katie didn't say anything so I took that as a yes.

"We're doing my plan for Nikki first, then yours." I yawned.

Katie sighed thinking it over for a while. "Fine." She replied.

"Won't you at least tell me what the plan for me is." She frowned.

I messed up her hair. "Nope, but here's Plan Occult."

"Plan Occult?" She asked confused.

"The plan for Nikki." I rolled my eyes as I explained my plan to her.

* * *

"Do we really have to do this?" Katie whined walking to breakfast.

"Well yeah how else would we get the cheese?" I said in a duh voice.

"But why am I stealing it? You're the thief!" Katie yelled.

"Hush." I put my finger over her lips. "Someone has to be the distraction."

"But I don't wanna." She whined pausing when we got to the mess hall.

"What's the problem…" I paused too following her eyes.

It was Colton, smiling as he ate his breakfast, he was laughing and joking with my other brothers.

"He's soo perfect." Katie gushed.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, nothing more perfect than Colton eating breakfast." I laughed.

"Everything he does is beautiful." Katie sighed looking dreamy eyed.

I rolled his eyes as I pointed at Colton. "Look! He's breathing. Isn't the way he breaths beautiful!" I mocked her.

Katie nodded enthusiastically.

"You hopeless romantics make me want to vomit." I made a face. "Wanting the ideal boyfriend, with the ideal relationship. A knight in shining armor to sweep you off your feet." I rolled my eyes.

"What's wrong with wanting that?" She asked.

"You're hopeless, now go steal the cheese."

"Whatever." Katie stuck her tongue out at me.

The Aphrodite girls were on kitchen duty today. Katie waited near the door to the kitchen.

I sauntered over and began to flirt with the girls. "Do you know if this is vegetarian?" I asked.

The answered and I began to ask more meaningless questions. "About how many calories is this? Is it glutton free?"

I purposely knocked over some cups and leaned down to pick them up apologizing. I used my body to block the view of the door and I saw Katie slip into the kitchen.

_Mission Accomplished. _

_Now go for the kill. _

I purposely timed it right so that our hands would brush as we picked up the cups. "I'm so sorry." I looked over and saw her face flushing.

_Almost there._

She looked up slowly at me and I sent her the face. The, oh I'm so embarrassed but happy at the same time and I just want to touch you more, face.

_Hook, Line, and Sinker. _

I got up and set the cups on the table. I saw Katie retreating out of the corner of my eye.

"Catch ya later." I told the blushing girl.

I was making my exit when I saw Katie run into Nikki out of all people.

_Wow, the last person we wanted to see us stealing cheese. _

"Why do you have a package of processed cheese?" She asked Katie.

"Um…" Katie looked flustered. "Go Wisconsin!" She yelled running out.

_My partner in crime is an idiot. _

**Whoa. Finally all the boring intro stuff is out of the way and we can get to the action. What you guys think? And how can cheese win a lady's heart. Find out next chapter. Review please. **


	3. Plan Occult

_**In case you haven't noticed I'm switching POV's between Travis and Katie every other chapter. Unless stated otherwise. **_

"Do I need to tell you the plan again?" Travis asked me.

"I'm not an idiot." I said rather insulted as I elbowed him in the stomach.

Travis doubled over in pain. "Jesus, your elbow is like a freaking harpoon!" He yelled rubbing the spot tenderly.

"Man up." I shrugged unaffected.

"Just don't forget the plan goes into action at 1800 hours." He reminded me.

"You mean at 6?" I paused looking over at him. We were in the entrance to the mess hall.

"You always spoil my fun." He rolled his eyes messing up my hair.

I smacked his hand away and walked over to my table to eat lunch.

"Fun sucker!" He called out behind me.

_What does that even mean?_

"Sucker of fun in case you were wondering!" He added.

I crouched up in the tree waiting for Travis and Nikki. I sighed; it was taking longer than expected. I willed the tree branch to grow thicker so that I could sit down comfortably. I looked at the fishing pole in my hands.

"I'm truly a love-sick fool…" I mumbled to myself. In my hands was a fishing pole with a piece of cheese on the hook. Next to me, a white sheet with holes for eyes was folded on the branch. In my pocket was my phone, newly downloaded with an app that made scary noises.

"_Nikki terrified of paranormal stuff, so if we scare her she'll jump into my arms. I'll protect her and then she'll fall in love with me." Travis smirked satisfied with himself. _

_I took a look at the list of things that we were going to do to 'scare' her. _

"_These are awful." I raised an eyebrow. _

"_It doesn't matter if they're good or not. It's dark and she won't be able to tell. Plus if you're scared of something you tend to magnify it in your head." He explained. _

"_Well… that is true." I agreed reluctantly. _

I whipped my head towards the flash light. It had to be Travis and Nikki. I looked at my watch; he sure was taking his time.

I stood up mentally preparing myself. Travis' voice drifted over to where I was perched.

"Do you truly not know the story of the woods?" Travis asked astounded.

"What are you talking about?" Nikki laughed.

Travis paused for a moment, his flashlight hung loosely in his hands pointed at the ground. "You know… the girl that died in these woods."

"No…" Nikki said softly.

"There's rumors of a girl who died out here. Legend says that the boy she loved rejected her. In her despair she wandered into these very woods. She got hopelessly lost couldn't find her way back." Travis said quietly. "Some say she got eaten by monsters, others say that she hung herself." Travis shrugged.

I shivered. Travis was a pretty good actor. I carefully climbed out onto the branch so that I was above the path they were walking on.

"Let's just hurry up and find your wallet." Nikki whispered.

"You don't have to be afraid. I won't let anything hurt you." Travis said confidently.

_He must be trying to be manly. _I repressed a snort.

I pulled out my phone and played a noise when they were directly underneath me. "What was that?" Nikki inhaled.

"I'm sure it was nothing." Travis reassured her.

And now for the critical moment. I held my breath as I lowered the cheese. I positioned it and gently swung it so that it swiped her bare shoulder. I quickly pulled it back up out of sight.

Nikki screeched and whipped around. "W-w-what was that?!"

"Calm down." Travis grabbed her shoulders. "You're fine. You're okay." His voice was soft, calming.

I swiped her again with the piece of cheese and pulled it up again. Unfortunately this time the hook decided to rip through the cheese. It landed on the ground with a splat.

"Shit." I mumbled as Nikki screeched again burrowing herself into Travis chest.

"I'm sc-scared." She whimpered into Travis' chest.

Travis wrapped his arms around her and smoothed the top of her head looking much too satisfied with himself.

_Bastard._

I threw a nut at his head.

He frowned looking up and I gestured to the cheese. "Don't let her see." I mouthed.

He nodded before grabbing Nikki's hand. "C'mon, we can go back. I don't really need that wallet anyway."

I extended the tree branches following them. Suddenly I heard a snapping sound coming off to the left. Travis and Nikki both heard it too. Nikki let out a whimper.

"I'll go check it out. You wait here." Travis told her again in his manly voice.

What was he doing? I didn't set up any traps on the ground. Everything was supposed to be done from the trees.

I leaned over trying to get a better view.

At that moment, a lot of things happened at once. The batteries in the flashlight died, and I heard Travis swear. I leaned out too far and slipped from my perch. I desperately held onto the branch.

Nikki let out a blood curling scream.

The scream one would probably let out if a spider jumped on your face.

I desperately tried to climb up onto the branch again. After much struggling I was finally situated.

I looked down trying to assess the situation. When my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness I realized Nikki was nowhere to be seen. Travis must have realized this as well because he was calling out her name.

"Nikki?" He called.

Silence.

"Nikki?" He tried again.

When it became apparent that she wasn't there; he frowned crossing his arms across his chest. "You can come out now." He grumbled.

I dropped down beside him, landing very gracefully if I do say so myself.

"Idiot." I reached up smacking the back of his head. "Now she probably ran off to camp scared shitless."

"What the hell! This is your fault! Why didn't you follow the plan?!" He yelled at me.

"Me?! You're the one who had to go and be a 'man'." I mocked him.

"Well why did you set up extra traps." He raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't." I glared.

"Then what's that?" He asked pointing to a tree behind me.

I turned around and saw a bloody handprint. "Haha very funny, Travis. Let me guess, you did that."

"I didn't do it." Travis furrowed his brows looking at me.

"Well I didn't do it either…" We stood there staring at each other.

"Well if you didn't do it…" He pointed to me.

"And if you didn't do it…" I pointed to him.

Our eyes widened in horror.

He walked over to me slowly. He put his hands on my hips.

"W-w-what are you doing?" I asked my face flushing. "Don't touch me like that." I pushed him away.

"Calm down." He rolled his eyes pulling out my phone. He pressed a button and the screen lit up. He examined the handprint. "If we didn't do this …" He trailed off. "Then who did…"

I held my breath. "Um… Travis…"

"Yeah." He looked over at me. His face showed an expression I had never seen. He looked serious. His brown eyes were unnaturally sharp, showing the real intelligence behind them and his mouth showed no hint of his signature smirk.

"The ground…" I finished lamely.

He pointed the light at the ground and we saw what appeared to be little tunnels in the dirt. "What are those…" I asked nervously.

"Well…" Travis bit his lip. "If someone drags you against your will, you'll resist. Usually by digging your heels into the ground… Like that." He pointed at the ground.

"But then…" An idea dawned on me.

Travis seemed to have the same idea.

"Nikki might actually be in trouble." We said in unison.

_**Yeah so the story's a bit too serious for my liking but I have many funny chapters planned, so don't worry. Also I already have like ¾ of the next chapter finished so as soon as I get a decent amount of reviews, or a decent amount of time has passed, whichever happens first. I'll publish it. **_

_**So review. And tell me your favorite or least favorite part. **_


	4. The Tables Have Turned

"Just admit it. You're just as scared as me." Katie snatched my hand squeezing it.

I looked over at her. Looks like Nikki wasn't the only one who's a scardy cat.

"Psh. I'm Travis freaking Stoll. I know when someone is pranking me." I rolled my eyes but didn't let go of her hand.

"I'm just saying… If you die, don't come crying to me about it." She said in all seriousness.

I didn't bother to point out the ridiculousness of that sentence.

Her hand was warm and soft. It felt tiny in comparison to my hand. She intertwined our fingers and I smiled a bit.

_What am I thinking?!_ I mentally slapped myself. _Frolicking through the woods holding hands with my arch nemesis isn't my idea of fun. Especially when the girl I actually like might be hurt. _

I frowned at the thought.

"But what if it isn't? What if Nikki's really hurt? What if a monster got her?!" Katie bit the inside of her cheek.

"Even if that did happen, Nikki's a fair fighter. She'll good with a knife, that makes that theory highly unlikely." I reassured her using the same voice I had used with Nikki earlier.

Oddly enough I felt Katie relax next to me.

"Yeah, you're right for once." She exhaled a breath she had been holding onto.

"It's more likely that the dead girl got her." I snorted at the thought.

Katie laughed along with me. "Actually that was a really good story. Where'd you get the idea for that?"

"What?" I asked confused. "I didn't make that up. Everyone a camp knows about that story."

Katie rolled her eyes. "And by everyone, you mean no one."

I raised my eyebrows. "Don't tell me…. you're one of those people who actually sing the campfire songs at the campfire." I snorted.

Katie didn't respond.

"Anyways… That story is mostly true." I nodded.

"I don't believe you."Katie said squeezing my hand.

I didn't really feel like telling her otherwise and having her freak out on me.

We both froze as we heard a girl scream.

"C'mon!" I said dragging Katie behind me, in the direction of the scream.

Katie ran along beside me, but I could tell she was afraid. I still pulled her along weaving in and out of the trees and dodging the bushes. I was still getting scraped up pretty bad, but I was in front so Katie should be better off than me.

We were both breathing heavily by the time we ran into a clearing.

Katie saw it first I think, she fell down on her knees pulling me with her, our fingers intertwined still. "Nikki…" She whispered quietly tears falling down her face.

There was a dagger stabbed in her stomach and a circle of blood stained her t-shirt. I froze staring at her. Or at least I was staring at Nikki, until I noticed a white figure grab Katie. She had long dark hair that hide her face and was wearing a red dress with white splotches… Or maybe it was a white dress covered in red…

A lesser man would have probably cried or run to his mother or wet himself, maybe all three.

I'm pretty sure Katie was still in shock or something because she didn't even scream.

I grabbed the Katie's arm pulling her back to me. "She's mine." I growled wrapping my arms protectively around her, shielding her. I closed my eyes waiting for certain death.

That's when I heard something all too familiar….

My brother's laugh.

I opened one of my eyes taking a peak and saw Connor holding a wig in one hand and a loose white dress in the other. "Fooled you."

I tackled him to the ground.

"I'll never forgive you." I told my brother walking back to camp.

"Your face… Priceless. Or even when I grabbed Katie." He mocked me. "She's mi-" My fists shut him up.

Katie looked about as confused as I was still. "But how…"

Connor smirked. "Actually I'm just the helper, Nikki's the mastermind."

I looked back at Nikki and grinned. "It's true, our prank was way better than yours." She laughed. "Cheese on a fishing pole, been there done that."

"But you're supposed to be easily scared." I raised an eyebrow; this still didn't make sense to me.

"I love paranormal stuff." She grinned. "It's reverse pyscology. If I tell people I'm easily scared then people will try to scare me." Her hair seemed to glow in the darkness and I resisted the urge to run my hand through it.

"Interesting…" I coughed looking away.

"That was mean." Katie said quietly.

Nikki pouted and wrapped her arms around Katie.

"Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me." She repeated squeezing her.

"Alright… But I guess we did try to scare you first." Katie smiled back.

_Why didn't I get a hug? Unfair. _

"She's mi-" My brother tried to mock me again.

"Do you always cross-dress Connor, or is it just for special occasions? Cause you looked cute in that dress." I smirked. Like I'd let my _little_ brother one up me. "Even I didn't know about your secret hobby."

Connor flipped me the bird and started up a conversation with Nikki.

Katie dropped back from the others and walked next to me. She looked at me intently. "That was really un-Travis like of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when you tried to protect me and stuff." She looked down at her feet.

"It's only natural to protect the things precious to you." I shrugged.

Katie head snapped and looked at me. I continued to look ahead, a mischievous smile on my face.

"Really?" She asked.

"Duh, you're the key to Nikki's heart." I smirked and quickly caught up to the others.

"It is amazing how much you kiss your own ass..." Katie rolled her eyes.

"Miss Taylor, I cordially invite you to ride upon my back. Think of it as an apology for trying to scare you." I extended my hand, all formal like.

A smile grew on Nikki's face. "A piggy back ride? Sweet! I accept."

_She's really is like a child. No wonder her and Katie get along so well…_

I leaned over and waited for Nikki to climb on. "You'll have to hang on tight." I told her. "Or you'll fall off."

Nikki rolled her eyes messing up my hair, and simultaneously sending shivers down my spine.

"Let's rock and roll!" She pointed her finger ahead. "Full steam ahead!"

I stood up and started to walk back to camp with Katie and Connor. I turned around and winked at Katie."Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. Your plan is ready to go."

Katie rolled her eyes as Nikki waved innocently from Travis's shoulders.

_**Sorry that took so long to update. I feel really bad. :( But no worries. I should be updating again really soon. Review please. And congrats to **__**Chloemacefieldluvstratie**__** for guessing so very closely. Haha sorry, I don't think I'm skilled enough to write a murder mystery.**_


	5. Wooly Mammoth

_**This chapter's longer than most, hope you guys enjoy it. Review and tell me your favorite or least favorite parts, it's really helpful. Thanks!**_

I looked up at the screen.

_Enter the Dungeon?_

"Hell yeah I wanna enter the dungeon!" I readjusted the controller in my hand, almost instantaneously I was swamped by monsters.

"I'll kill each and every one last god damn one of you lame ass bitches!"

I heard a door opening, "Hey Katie." I greeted not removing my eyes from the screen.

My game beeped loudly and I sighed.

_Game Over_

"Damn it." I frowned.

Katie was still standing in the doorway. "What are you doing my cabin…"Katie hissed attempting to control her rage.

"Your cabin's really nice." I told her taking out the game and putting a zombie one in instead. "You wanna play?" I asked holding up a spare controller.

She glared at me. "Really? Really Travis. Who said you could just take-over my cabin?! You even hooked up your crap!" She was furious; if this was a cartoon steam, would have been shooting out of her ears.

I grinned turning my attention back to the screen and starting the game. "Well… What's mine is mine, and what's yours… is also mine."

"Just get out." Katie glared flopping on her bed.

"And if I don't?" I asked softly with a smirk. It was just too easy, and much too fun, to resist messing with her.

"Why do you hate me?" She whined. "You haven't even helped me at all. You're too lazy to do anything for anyone else. You're only interested in yourself."

"I'm not lazy I'm just conserving energy." I told her blasting a zombie's head off. "Head Shot!"

A pillow hit my head from behind.

"You know I was actually waiting for you. I was going to tell you about Colton." I rolled my eyes.

"Really?" Katie asked enthusiastically, honestly it was almost too easy to manipulate her.

"Really." I nodded pausing the game and standing up. "But first, I need to know how much I need to teach you." I cracked my knuckles. "How much experience do you have?"

Katie sat up looking confused. "What do you mean?"

I ran my hand through my hair. This might be harder than I thought. "I mean like… relationship wise."

Katie blinked. "I've had a boyfriend before."

_Just be blunt,_ I told myself,_ Or she'll never understand. _I grabbed her shoulders. "Tell me exactly how far you've gone with a guy!" I commanded exasperated.

Katie avoided my eyes. "Well you know… kissing and stuff…" She mumbled, her face red. I smiled to myself, it was fun having excuses to touch her.

I rolled my eyes. "Somehow I doubt that. You get flustered by me standing this close to you. Have you even had your first kiss yet?" I mocked her.

Katie grimaced and looked me in the eyes. "I have too. Me and Jacob kissed countless times!" She insisted.

I raised an eyebrow dubiously.

"Okay… well… we kissed twice." She admitted looking down at the bed.

I groaned putting my hand on my head. "You're hopeless."

"Countless just sounds better than twice." Katie shrugged.

"Okay, okay." I tried to calm myself down. "There's still hope, there's still hope." I repeated out loud.

Katie sat with her legs crossed on the end of the bed. She watched me intently.

"The first step," I turned around and looked at her, "Is setting up the atmosphere." I instructed. "It's very important, if you don't things could get very awkward, very fast."

Katie raised her hand. She looked like a little kid in school with a question.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Um… do you have a question?" I asked her.

"When you say atmosphere… Do you mean clouds and stuff?"

It was a good thing there were no sharp objects around.

"You… Are literally…" Words refused to come out of my mouth.

Katie knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "Now I'm even more confused."

I flicked her forehead. "Tell me, what it's like living in a constant haze of stupidity." I rolled my eyes flopping on the bed. "I give up. You're impossible. It's still ten years to early for you to have a boyfriend."

Katie pouted. "I don't really think any of that matters, whether I have experience or not. Colton doesn't really seem like the type."

"Doesn't seem like the type." I snorted. "Are you stupid or something?"

"Why do you keep saying that?" She frowned.

"Because not every cute guy has your best interests at heart! Don't be so naïve!" I yelled in frustration.

"I'm not naïve." She retorted. "And I'm careful." She added sternly.

"You're not careful." I pushed her back on the bed and put on hand on either side of her body. "And trust me, I know more than anyone how easy you are to manipulate and take advantage of. Guys are guys, you never know what they really want."

Katie avoided my gaze and bit her lip. "I get it, so why do you keep saying that?"

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it, you think you get it, which isn't the same as actually getting it. Get it?" I explained.

Katie put her hands on my chest and pushed. She pushed me onto the bed and instead straddled me. Essentially switching our positions. I felt my heart drop into my stomach and tried not to let the shock show on my face.

"I get it Travis. I'll be careful." She rolled her eyes, her hands still on my chest. I briefly wondered if she could feel my accelerated heartbeat. "Although this protective side of you is cute, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

I opened my mouth to protest but Katie had already started to get up. She was wearing sweatpants but they had rolled up when she was getting up.

And her leg… had brushed my arm….

I stared at her with an open mouth.

"What's your malfunction?" She asked still getting up.

"Of all that is good and holy... When was the last time you shaved?"

"It's fall." She stuck her tongue out at me. "Which means that everyone's wearing pants."

I grabbed her leg and rolled up her sweatpants. "You call this a leg? This… This is a cactus."

She gave me a dirty look batting my hand away. "Jerk. You don't know how hard it is to be a girl!"

"Girl? More like wooly mammoth." I snorted.

"Pardon my French, but you're an asshole." She looked daggers in my direction.

"Just go shave," I pushed her towards the bathroom. "If you even remember how."

"Fine, but only because I was going to anyway!" Ignoring her glares I laid back down on the bed and sighed.

I heard the door slam shut and the water begin to run. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. Why did I feel so conflicted?

* * *

Katie walked out in shorts and a t-shirt, her hair still wet.

"Better?" I asked her.

"You still haven't helped me at all." She complained drying off her hair with the towel.

"Well since we already decided you have zero experience in the boy department, how much do you know about Colton?" I questioned.

"Not much." She replied sitting on the bed.

I sighed. "Honestly, I don't know much either and I'm one of his closest friends. He's very calm and collected. He rarely shows emotion and he's polite to everyone."

"He's so prince-like." Katie smiled. "He's kind to everyone but cool at the same time."

I rolled my eyes. It was typical of Katie to romanticize these things. "Actually he almost seems cold at times. It's hard to tell what he's really after…" I trailed off. "He pretends to be all cool, but he is extremely ambitious and calculating. That shows he has enormous passion. He manipulates people without them even realizing it and what's more is everyone likes him."

"Yeah." Katie said all star-struck. "He's really popular."

I mentally face palmed myself. It was no use. Our entire conversation earlier had gone in one ear and out the other. I guess I'd just have to watch after her more carefully.

_**Review, nuff said. **_


	6. Stuck in a Shed

I sighed. "This sucks." I complained. All of my siblings had left camp already, but strawberry season wasn't over so I had to do all the work by myself. It was exhausting.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was 2 p.m. "I missed lunch?" I grabbed my tools and gloves and tromped back to the shed. "This totally blows, especially since I asked Travis to help." I frowned, "He hasn't even helped me with Colton either. What a useless jerk." I grumble under my breath.

I unlocked the shed and began to put my tools away. I was reaching up to put my gloves away when I heard his voice. "Need some help?"

My heart did backflips. "Colton!" I screeched turning towards the door, in the process knocking over some rakes propped up against the wall. I looked at the floor and groaned.

He chuckled. "Need some help?" He asked walking in and beginning to pick them up.

"Uhhh." My mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

_English language, not my forte. _

"Uh, you don't have to. It was my fault anyway, you just surprised me that's all." I bent down propping some of them back up.

"It's cool, I came to help anyway." He looked over at me and smiled his usual charming smile. "Travis said that you needed some help and that he was busy."

"So he's not completely useless after all…" I laughed, standing up and brushing off the dirt on my jeans. "Need some help?" I ask extending my hand towards Colton.

The door slammed shut and once more I jumped. I really needed to work on the whole easily surprised thing, at least this time I didn't scream. But this time I did fall backwards into Colton, who fell backwards into the rakes, which we both fell on when we fell down.

"Ouch." I frowned. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing, I could however feel Colton's body underneath me. _So warm._ My heartbeat quickened and my mouth felt dry. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." I repeated as I scrambled to get up.

Colton laughed again. "How cute, it's almost like your nervous around me."

_Nervous is one way of describing it._

I heard Colton stand up and I tried to feel my way to the door. "I found the door." I told him as I turned the knob, it was jammed. "You must be joking." I said irritated.

"What's the problem?" Colton's voice echoed.

"The door's jammed." I explained. "It won't open."

"Well you didn't really believe the door slammed shut by itself, did you." I could hear Colton's voice moving closer. "Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if one of my siblings was behind it."

_Damn Hermes kids. _

"So what are we suppose to do then?" I asked.

"Chill until someone finds us I guess." Our eyes had adjusted to the darkness so it wasn't pitch black but it wasn't easy to see either. There were cracks between the door and the floor where light shone in just enough to allow us to see silhouettes of our surroundings.

I saw the outline of some boxes and sat down, Colton sat down next to me.

"So…" he trailed off.

_Think of something, THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY!_

"You'll probably think this is bothersome but just in case you don't find it bothersome… Would you PLEASE ACCEPT MY VIGRIN BODY!?"

_No, Katie, that would scare him off. Be cool, be cool. _

"So…" I also trailed off, although much more awkwardly. "We've never really talked one on one. I don't even know that much about you. The only things I really know are what Travis has told me." I realized a bit disappointed. "You don't really let anyone very close."

Colton was silent for a moment. "So, what has Travis told you?"

I paused for a moment trying to summarize Travis's words in her head. "He said you're cold sometimes, and that you pretend to be nice to people. You're very good at manipulating people and will do so to get what you want." I said without thinking. "But what does Travis know?" I try to turn it into a joke.

Colton laughed harshly. "Leave it to Travis to see through me."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"I'm not the guy everyone thinks I am, isn't it obvious." He didn't sound like he normally does; there was no false kindness in his voice.

"You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not." I frowned.

He laughed, but it was a hollow sort of laugh. "That's a childish way to view the world, Katie. My stepfather's the CEO of a large corporation. I was taught that people existed to be taken advantage of. You use anything and anyone to get what you want. That's just the way it is. Your feelings don't matter; the public view is everything. It doesn't matter how angry you are, you have to play nice just to save some face."

I was shocked to hear Colton reveal so much about himself. It was extremely unlike him. But even if he was revealing his opinion it didn't mean I had to agree with him. "I don't think that's how it has to be. You'll probably think this is dumb… but if you work hard then you'll achieve what you want. You should always be yourself, and if people don't like you then they don't matter anyway. It's much more important to stand up for what you believe in."

"Sorry Katie, but I'm a realist. People want you to be perfect, not yourself." Colton said coldly.

"Well I still like you. Perfect, imperfect, I like you." I protested.

Colton laughed, what sounded like a genuine laugh. It felt good to hear him laugh. It was such a clean pure sound. "That almost sounded like a confession, Katie." Colton moved closer to me and I could feel his breath on my face. "Are you trying to win my heart?"

"What are you talking about?" My hearts thumped loudly in my chest and it's almost hard to breath. "It seems like you're trying to seduce _me_." He was the one winning my heart.

"Why? Are you seducible?" I can just imagine the smirk on his face; his is eerily similar to Travis'.

I remember what Travis told me. "Of course not. I'm not some stupid girl that believes every cute guy has my best interest at heart." I frown still a bit peeved from my conversation with him.

We both jumped hearing a knock on the door. "Katie? Colton?" I heard Nikki's voice. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah." I called out to her. "Can you get us out, the door's jammed." I stood up to walk to the door but Colton grabbed my hand.

"Colton?" He stand up as well, but says nothing.

A moment later the door is opened and light shines in illuminating Colton's face. His eyes are mischievous and his smirk is adorable. His face is very close to mine as he leans in and whispers, "That's too bad you're my type."

"Thanks Nikki, thought we'd never get out of here." Colton flashes her one of his dazzling smiles.

"No, problem." Nikki smiles back, if she was a normal girl her heart would be in her stomach.

"Although… It's a shame we had to be interrupted Katie," he winked at me. "Next time perhaps."

I'm still standing in the shed trying to comprehend what happened when he leaves.

_**Ahhh, finished, sorry this chapter was sort of boring. I'm trying to continue all my stories but it's hard work. Check out my other story, Demon, and review please!**_


	7. Rock King

_**I really need a beta-reader for my stories. So just message me if you're interested!**_

"Maybe I attracted him with my sexy dynamite body." Katie joked pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

I rolled onto my back; I was lying on her bed. "But you're neither sexy nor dynamite."

Katie ignores my comment. "You don't know how close his face was to mine when Nikki let us out." She paused securing her hair with an elastic band. "I thought he was going to kiss me." A smile appeared on her face.

I closed my eyes, irritated. "Maybe he saw a bug in your hair."

"I think not. I'm thinking kiss." Katie said in a sing-song voice grabbing her swimsuit and heading to the bathroom to change.

"Head butt perhaps?" I suggested.

"Kiss!" Katie called out from the bathroom.

I sighed. "Maybe he's concerned over the state of your pores."

Katie walked out throwing her clothes in the hamper. "You're ridiculous."

I could see the straps of her swimsuit peeking out from her cover-up. They were peach. I stood up slipping my sandals back on. "Alright, alright. I give it about… forty percent chance of romantic inclination."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you ready to go?" She asked retrieving a pair of sunglasses.

I nodded. "Let's hit the beach." We walked out and headed for the beach. Halfway there we ran into Nikki and Heather.

"Are you going to the beach?" Nikki asked Katie.

"Yeah actually I was headed there now." She grinned.

"Well if you wait for us then we can all go together-"

My patience ran out. "Sorry I've got dibs." I smirked at them grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her to the beach.

"Hey." Katie frowned but didn't fight my grip.

"We're planning right now. Don't get distracted." I told her taking off my shirt and tossing it in the sand. We were on the rockier side of the beach so you had to be careful not to cut yourself. In the water there were sporadic rocks that suck up out of the water. I waded out and swam to one that was flat on the top and climbed up on it. "The water feels great!" I yelled out to Katie.

She slipped out of her cover up and took off her sunglasses. Her bathing suit was peach and had some lace decoration stuff on it. She looked cute.

I mean… _all _girls are cute in bathing suits.

She swam out to where I was surprisingly quickly. I jumped off my rock and into the ocean. I resurfaced and saw Katie trying to climb up _my _rock. "Excuse me." I looked up at her.

"You're excused." Katie said jumping off.

I quickly scrambled back up the rock. "I am Rock King!" I shouted jumping off and doing a cannon ball.

When I resurfaced Katie was already on the rock, lying down. "Well I'm Rock Queen, and as ruling deity I am enacting the first law…" She smirked down at me treading water. "No Travis' allowed."

I climbed up the rock and she stood up to greet me. "I'll have to kick you off the rock." She said seriously. "You're a Travis."

"Well this rock isn't big enough for the two of us." I mimic her tone. When, in fact, the rock was probably big enough for us to both lie down comfortably.

"Indeed." Katie prepared herself. "If it's a battle to the death you wish for then… so be it." She narrowed her eyes at me.

I chuckled before I tackled her into water.

She resurfaced gasping. "TRAVIS!" She shrieked but I was already scaling the rock again. She swam over and grasped my ankle pulling me off the rock with surprising force.

"Oh, it's on now!" I shouted back.

We fought over the rock for a while until I felt like I was going to drown if I had to tread water anymore. We both climbed up on the rock gasping for breath and lying there. "Okay, okay we can share the rock."

"Agreed." Katie replied. "Truce." She said holding out her hand. I shook it.

"It has to be official…" I said searching around for a sharp rock. I pried off a loose bit of the corner; it had a sharp edge to it, perfect for writing.

I began to scratch our names onto the rock. When I was satisfied, I showed Katie.

"Acceptable?" I asked.

"Wait," Katie said grabbing the rock. "You have to put the date too." She scratched it underneath to our names.

_**Travis and Katie's **_

_**Rock**_

_**6/11/2013**_

"Perfect." I commented closing my eyes and enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin.

"Race you back to the beach!" Katie shouted diving into the ocean and making her way back towards shore. I stood up squinting and saw there were a few people scattered here and there on the beach.

I sighed, my bad mood returning as I jumped in and swam after her.

Katie ended up beating me back. She waited for me with her arms crossed and her tongue stuck out. "Beatcha!" She mocked.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes messing up her hair.

"Katie!" Nikki called out to her. She was floating out on a raft. "Get your ass over here."

"Ass en route!" Katie ran out to her, splashing through the water.

At that moment Colton thought it'd be a good idea to put his hand on my shoulder.

I jumped a few feet in the air.

"Distracted much?" Colton laughed.

"You could say that." I say averting my attention to him.

He watched Katie run out to Nikki and the corners of his mouth twitched into a smirk. "I've just found something very interesting… so if you'll excuse me…" He began wading out towards Katie.

I rolled my eyes my foul mood intensifying. I watched Colton for a bit. He swam out to them and flipped their raft catching them by surprise. There was screaming and lots of splashing. Everyone was having fun.

Colton and Katie seemed to be splashing each other in some sort of water battle. Colton then put his arms around Katie and picked her up out of the water only to throw her back in again.

I felt _ill. _I felt like someone had decided to rip out my internal organs just for kicks.

I needed to be somewhere else. I slipped back on my shirt and didn't even bother with the sandals. I took off running. It didn't matter where. I just couldn't be there.

I ran across the courtyard and towards the forest. My feet were complaining of my lack of footwear but I ignored it. I didn't want to stop running just to get shoes.

Call it a Hermes kid thing or call it my thing. It doesn't matter. But running always helped me clear my head.

I ran down one of the many paths that lead into the woods and prayed I wouldn't run into any monsters. I wasn't exactly battle ready in swim trunks and t-shirt.

"Travis!" I heard Katie's voice call out for me.

I faltered for a moment and tripped over a branch.

"Shit." I stood up rubbing off the dirt. I was trying to decide if I imagined it.

"Pull yourself together, Travis. There's nothing wrong with you." I told myself out loud and began to run again.

"TRAVIS!" Katie yelled and this time she sounded extremely close; I knew I hadn't imagined it. I halted whipping around and saw her sprinting full speed right behind me.

_What was she doing?_

She finally caught up to me and grasped my arm tightly trying to catch her breath. "You... I…" She said in between gasps. She wasn't even wearing her cover up, just her swimsuit. She probably just dashed out of the water as soon as I took off. I felt a wave of guilt roll over me.

_How did she even catch up to me? I was running pretty fast, and Gardner's no runner. _

Her face was flushed red and her hair was sticking to the back of her neck. "Are you… okay?" She asked recovering a bit.

"Just dandy." I said shortly, hoping she'd take the hint.

Katie either didn't pick up the hint or ignored it entirely. "But you ran off suddenly." She looked up at me. I knew that look in her eyes. _Worried._

_Alright, the direct approach then_. "Leave me alone." I told her staring at a tree. A squirrel was watching us, nut in hand.

Katie frowned and started to protest. "But-"

I yanked my wrist out of her grasp and began running_. Can't she see I'm trying to get away from my problems? Not only can I not run away from my problems. My problems are actually chasing after me. I want to laugh at the irony. _

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by Katie grabbing my wrist again, more forceful this time.

"You think because you're not in the mood you can push off anyone you like. You can't do that you shithead!" Her anger flared.

"Just go back and have fun with Colton." I snapped without thinking.

_Shit._

Katie's face was confused. But after a few moments she started to smile. "I get it." She laughed. "You're jealous."

_Out of all the things for Gardner to pick up on, she picks up on that?!_

I didn't respond, my mouth had already revealed too much.

"Don't be jealous, kay?" Katie reassured me. "Nikki and Colton are friends but I don't think they like each other that way."

"You're wrong." I sighed leaning back against the tree. When I leaned back I flinched wincing in pain. "What the…"

I lifted up the back of my shirt trying to see why it hurt. I could just barely turn around to see. There was a large cut running diagonally across my lower back right above my trunks; it was about five inches across.

"Why didn't you say something earlier Travis?" Katie frowned pulling me back towards camp. "It's all my fault too and you were trying to be nice and not say anything about it." Katie bit her lip.

"How is it your fault?" I asked confused but allowed myself to be pulled along.

"It happened when I pulled you off the rock didn't it? The rock cut your back." She explained.

"Probably." I muttered, to be honest I hadn't even realized what happened.

"Well as long as you go to the infirmary I'm sure it won't get infected." We reached the edge of the woods, but still had to cross camp to get to the big house.

"Here," I pulled off my shirt and tossed it to Katie. "You wear it."

"I'm fine." Katie rolled her eyes. "You're the one with a cut on your back."

"Just wear it okay." I smiled a bit in spite of myself. "Don't go around showing off your sexy dynamite body to just anyone."

Katie laughed. "Fine, but only because you admitted I was sexy _and_ dynamite." She pulled on the shirt which fell just far enough to cover her butt.

We walked to the big house and went upstairs to one of the rooms. I lied down on my stomach on one of the beds and tried to relax.

"As a treat I'll go get Nikki." Katie winked at me before leaving.

I sighed after she left.

_What is this?! Why am I jealous about Katie and Colton? I wasn't even thinking about Nikki. Why do I even feel this way? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAZY CONFLICTED EMOTION I'M FEELING?_

This inner turmoil continued until Nikki arrived. "Hey Stoll." She said walking in with a first aid kit.

"Hey." I replied meekly still battling with my thoughts.

"Could you try to hide your jealousy better?" Nikki asked pulling out an anti-bacterial wipe and wiping it on my cut. "You're worrying Katie."

"I'm not jealous of Katie." I said, unconvincingly.

"Travis… Anyone with _eyes_ can see you've got the hots for Gardener."

"Don't be ridiculous." I laughed out loud. "It's irrational. It's impossible. It's against my religion."

"Whatever you say." Nikki said applying a bandage.

"Besides, how do you even know if you're in love?" I joked. "It's such an abstract concept."

"Well… I think it's when she's sad, you're sad. And when she's happy, you're happy. That's what love is." Nikki replied seriously. "But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and ask other people."

Embarrassingly enough, that's exactly what I did.

* * *

"So are you still in denial?" Nikki asked me.

"I'm not in denial, because I'm not in love with her. Trust me, I even asked other people like you suggested." I told her proud of myself. It wasn't an easy question to ask. Except for maybe Percy, he's fairly easy-going.

"_So Percy… Like I was saying how did you know when you were in love with Annabeth?" I asked nonchalantly. _

_Percy was sitting at his table eating a bowl of mac n cheese. He chewed thinking thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Well love is when you're moved by something beautiful, you want to share that moment with another person. That's love…" He nodded. _

_I stared mouth agape. I wasn't expected a serious answer from Percy. At that moment Annabeth walked into the Mess Hall. _

"_Yo Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "Come check out this wicked bowl of mac n cheese." _

_I let out a sigh of relief, Percy was still Percy. _

Actually I ended up 'interviewing' a lot of campers. But the hardest was Clarisse.

"_Soo… Clarisse... What's love to you?" I choked out. I was already half in a crouch ready to run if need be. _

_Clarisse looked up at me from her plate of ribs, and I honestly feared for my life. "Love? Don't make me laugh." She snapped biting into a rib. _

_My brother Connor came up behind us and eavesdropped on our conversation. _

"_Love?" Connor grinned. "I know a thing or two about love. Love is when your heart hurts." Connor said proudly, like he'd come up with the most genius answer. _

"_Well I think that's love… Might be heartburn I suppose." He said as an afterthought. _

I also asked Beckendorf because I needed at least one serious answer.

"_So how did you know when you loved Silena." I asked. _

_Beckendorf paused thinking, he turned and looked at Silena smiling. "I don't know really. It's just something that you know, and at first you try to ignore it but then it's simply not possible to ignore." He nodded. "I didn't even plan on confessing to her. My mouth just moved on its own accord." _

"_Silena?" I asked her. _

"_Love is serious." She informed me. "I've liked lots of boys but Beckendorf's the only one I've loved." She looked at him and smiled and I forced the vomit back down my throat. "If it's love then you'll lose your composure. It makes you not care anymore even if it looks lame or messy. You want it so bad you don't care about the cost." She finished looking satisfied. _

"Look, none of anyone's answers matched up with how I feel right now. I'm just confused that's all. I'm definitely not in love with Katie." Even as I said that I felt all weird in my chest.

"Travis you gotta try this chip. It's the new cheesy potato kind." Nikki grinned handing me a chip. If anyone else tried this I would be totally confused. But Nikki is so random you just have to go with the flow.

I tried it and smiled. "You're right these are great!"

"I know I _love _them." Nikki smirked.

I rolled my eyes.

"What about green beans?" She asked me.

"Ugg, they're gross. I hate them." I replied.

"Ice cream?"

"Love it."

"Steak?"

"Love it." I yawned. I didn't see the point of these questions.

"Yogurt?"

"Hate it." I made a face.

"Katie Gardner?" She continued.

"Love her." I replied with ease.

_Wait a second. _

"That's not fair!" I protested. "You caught me off guard."

"Stop denying it, lover boy." Nikki cracked up laughing. "Your body says so before your brain can stop you. I'll leave you with time to absorb your new-found information." She skipped off leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I took a deep breath. "I'm so in love with Katie Gardner." I whispered. "But…" I sighed looking up at the sky and thinking. The even bigger question's, "what should I do about it?"

_**Okay so it took me like 5 years to release another chapter but it's extra long so please forgive me. Please review, or favorite, or follow… Better yet do all three!**_

_**Best wishes!**_

_**P.S. I get into these funks where I'm so busy that writing is the last thing on my mind. But whenever someone reviews or follows (etc.), I get a mail from fanfiction that tells me so and it encourages me to write again… **_


	8. Katie's Diary

**Can I just say that you guys are the greatest. I've never gotten so many reviews for one chapter and you guys are just… the best. Anyways I've finished the story in my mind and trust me you guys are in for a treat. **

I heard a knocking on my door and I half expected Travis to come bursting in. Instead the visitor knocked again and I paused sucking in a breath. "Just a minute!" I yelled tossing some more clothes into the hamper.

I walked over to the door and yanked it open. "Travis, I'm busy cle-"

Instead of the usual mess of curls and smirk it was a different smirk with a neater haircut. Colton… _The one I was crushing on since ever, the one who made the butterflies in my stomach, and the one who made my heart skip a beat. _

On cue my heart faltered.

"C-Colton." I choked out, kicking a pair of underwear under my bed. "What brings you to my cabin?" I relax a little, forcing myself to take deep breaths.

"Actually I was looking for Travis, is he here?" Colton flashed me a smile.

_Gods, doesn't he know what that does to me?_

"Ah, no he's not here right now." I sighed studying the door frame. I kind of wished that Colton had just come to see me.

A smirk appeared on Colton's face. "What? You wish I came to see you?"

_He's a god damn mind-reader?!_

"Psh." I laughed. "Not in the state that my cabin's in."

Colton took a couple of steps inside glancing around. "Hmm, interesting."

"Wait!" I pleaded. "Close your eyes for ten seconds."

Colton smirked but obliged.

I quickly threw all the clothes on the floor underneath the beds.

Just in time too, because Colton opened his eyes. I relaxed sitting on my bed. "Yeah. I like the Demeter cabin a lot. It's lonely sometimes though." I told him honestly.

He walked around the cabin inspecting it. "A person's room says a lot about their personality."

I thought about Travis' room and laughed nodding in agreement. Actually I almost wish Travis was here and not Colton. At least with Travis I could relax. Being with Travis was quite simple really, something one did as easily as breathing. Being with Colton was pleasant, but I always had to watch what I was saying or doing. It was exhausting.

Colton paused momentarily. "Ohhh what's this?" He asked picking up a book.

"Oh that's my…"

This time my heart really did stop.

"Katie's Diary." Colton read out loud. "I wonder what sort of juicy secrets it contains." He smirked opening the cover.

I've thought back to this occasion many times and I still can't tell you exactly what happened. My body reacted on its own before my mind could say no. I jumped up to grab the book from his hands but ended up tripping over my own feet and tackling him instead. We went flying, the book in one direction and us in another. We went tumbling into the wall.

I ended up hitting my head pretty hard, and don't really remember a whole lot of before or after I tackled him. But there are a few pieces I remember quite clearly.

I groaned hearing someone whisper my name. My arms were wrapped around a very comfortable pillow. Or so I thought until the pillow grew an arm and wrapped it around me.

"Katie." It whispered again shaking me gently.

"No." I mumbled burying my face into the pillow.

The pillow inhaled sharply.

This time it sounded like the pillow was pleading with me. "Please Katie; I need you to wake up."

The voice sounded eerily like Colton's and it asked so nicely, I figured it couldn't hurt to open my eyes. "Huh?" I asked blinking.

That's when I comprehended the situation. Colton and I were on the ground with our arms wrapped around each other. My face was practically buried into his chest. I looked up into his eyes and his face was flushed. The urge to kiss him was so irresistible it was painful to be so close to him.

Colton wasn't looking at me, but instead at the wall. "You should m-move." He stumbled over his words, a first probably. He looked cute being slightly embarrassed, he was always so poised.

"Okay." I whispered quietly. He probably wrapped his arms around me to protect me when we hit the ground. I told my body to move but it wasn't being very cooperative. It just kept staring up into his face.

Colton's body was tense as he waited for me to move and he kept staring at the wall. After a moment he realized I wasn't moving and he looked down at me. "Katie, why aren't you…" He got quieter and finally trailed off.

He must be a mind reader or I must have **I WANT TO KISS YOUR FACE, **written on _my_ face. Because we were both looking at each other with the same idea.

I reluctantly began retracting my hands. "Maybe… I didn't want to move." I sighed looking at his chest. _What was I saying? How much creepier could I get?_

Colton leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

I inhaled deeply, my eyes wide open in surprise. After a moment I calmed down and closed my eyes kissing him back. His lips were really soft, but still rougher than mine. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.

I wasn't sure how long we kissed, it could've been hours, it could've seconds. But when we pulled back we were both gasping for breath.

"Katie…" Colton said catching his breath.

"Mmm?" I asked, words weren't going to work right now.

"I would love to kiss you again, but right now." He pulled back his arm and pointed to the wall. "My arm's stuck in the wall."

"Oh my god." I slithered out and stood up examining the situation. His right arm was stuck through the wall just up to his elbow.

"I didn't even realize, I'm so sorry." I stuttered my face flushing.

"It's alright." Colton reassured me. "I just need some help that's all."

"Well, I can go get someone-"

"No." Colton said a bit quickly. "You can just pull my arm out; after all it'd be a pain to explain this to someone else." He shot me a quick smile.

"I don't want to hurt you though." I bit my lip.

"I'll be fine." Colton said reassuringly.

"If you say so." I replied unconvinced. I situated myself kneeling beside his arm.

"Just yank it out." He nodded encouraging me.

I sighed gripping his arm and started tugging. I pulled gently at first looking at his face to see his reaction. He seemed fine, so I continued adding a bit more force.

I was pulling really hard; frustrated his arm was not coming out of the wall. I bit my lip looking at his face and he was grimacing. You could tell he was trying really hard not to make a sound or move.

I stopped, frowning. "I can't." I told him. "I don't think I'm strong enough maybe we should just get someone else to-"

"No." Colton interrupted, "Just pull it out in one swift movement."

"Fine, I'll try one more time…" I brushed some hair out of my eyes, gripping his arm tightly.

I pulled gently at first but then added more force. His arm seemed to be stuck on something. I made a frustrated noise and yanked one last time. His arm came free of the wall and I tumbled back into him.

"I did." I grinned looking at him.

He was examining his arm. "Yup." He laughed.

I frowned. "Oh…" I said running my fingers over where the wall had scratched up his arm. Right underneath his elbow were a bunch of angry red lines.

"I'm fine." He shook his head standing up and brushing off some dust. "Sorry about the wall." He looked apologetic. The wall was between the main room and the bathroom, and his arm went through both ends.

I shook my head. "Sorry about the wall? I'm sorry about your arm." I said. "You should definitely get it checked out; there are lots of Apollo kids that I'm su-"

"Katie, you worry too much." Colton laughed sitting on my bed. "I'm fine."

"Well, I just… feel bad because…" I bit my lip sitting down next to him. "Because you know, it's my fault. I tackled you and stuff. I shouldn't have over-reacted like that."

"Nah, it's my fault because I was teasing you." Colton grinned. "But you know I was just teasing, right?" He looked at me. "I wouldn't do anything that you didn't want me to do."

"Uh… yeah…" I blinked… We were sitting so close… And then I remembered the feel of his lips… My face flushed bright red and I looked away.

"Well… I'll come fix your wall tomorrow." Colton smiled.

"You don't have to do that…" I told him.

"It's alright; I know how to take responsibility for my actions." He smirked slightly. "But I gotta run, so I'll be seeing you…" He got up and walked over to the door. "It's been fun." He said and with a smirk he left.

I flopped back on my bed and made a noise that I really can't describe.

"I kissed Colton." I repeated over and over to myself. Slowly a smile began to grow on my face as the realization hit me. "I had my first kiss with Colton."

I jumped up, excited. I wanted someone else to be happy with me. I skipped over opening the door and heading off to look for Travis, a girly grin plastered on my face.

**Alsdkfjklsadf. I'm so excited for the next chapter. It'll be coming out real soon I promise. And check out my other stories. (Lots of Tratie and other couples as well…). And please review this chapter as well... I'm sure you're quite angry.**


	9. Ruined Plans

I'd been sword fighting all day with Percy and I was exhausted. I was actually pretty proud; I'd even managed to win a handful of times. The times I lost were still outnumbered those wins but I mean… that's not important.

And now it was time to kick back and relax. I located a nice looking oak tree and sat down underneath it. It was such a nice day, not too hot, not too cold, with a slight breeze. I leaned back on my palms enjoying the shade. Eventually I lied back with my hands behind my head in the grass. I didn't mean to, but the weather and the exhaustion must have gotten to me because before I knew it my eyelids were heavy and I could hardly keep them open. I'll just rest my eyes for a little bit. I told myself before I fell asleep.

* * *

"Travis…" A voice whispered in my ear.

"That's my name." I mumbled and I heard someone chuckle.

"Wake up." They said a bit louder.

"Not happening." I said as I rolled over on my side.

"C'mon." The voice insisted. They plopped on my side.

I peeked a bit with one eye and saw that it was Katie. Her brown hair was cascading down onto me and tickling my arms.

"Why don't you just sleep too? Sleep is a beautiful thing." I smirked keeping my eyes closed.

"But I have important news for you." She sighed laying down next to me.

"Sshh." I hushed her rolling on my side to face her. I cracked my eyes open a bit and see that she'd closed her eyes. "You can tell me later."

She remained silent and I slipped back into sleep.

* * *

When I woke up I didn't even know what year it was let alone how long I'd been asleep.

I groaned rolling over on my other side. I opened my eyes to see that the sun was setting and Katie had fallen asleep next to me.

Her hair was spread out in a halo around her head and her face was relaxed. I watched her chest gently rise and fall.

I thought about waking her up and telling her how I feel. Telling her that it wasn't Nikki I liked but her. You know… confessing.

To confess or not to confess. It depends on the balance between reason and self confidence. And to be honest I wasn't feeling all that confident, especially because I knew Katie still likes Colton. But in time… I bet she would realize she feels something for me too.

I looked at her sleeping face and allowed myself to brush a lock of hair out of her face. "Katie…" I sighed.

She mumbled something in her sleep and the corners of her mouth were twitching a bit. It almost seemed like she was smiling in her sleep.

"Wake up." I couldn't help but smile as well. I put my hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly.

"We can go to Finland…" She murmured sitting up. She looked very lost and confused.

Damn it, she spoke such adorable nonsense.

"Get enough beauty sleep, Princess." I teased her engaging in our usual banter. "Looks like you were dreaming about me, explains the drool." I smirked.

Katie rolled her eyes adjusting herself to her surroundings. "Yeah, whatever."

"So what exactly happened that you so rudely interrupted my nap for?" I asked her.

A small grin grew on Katie's face. "Actually it has something to do with Colton."

"Oh really." I tried to mentally calm myself down. I had to be mature about this. I couldn't let my jealously get the best of me.

"Yeah we… kissed." Katie made sort of a squealing noise as I felt my heart drop in my stomach.

"Just fucking great." My anger flared. There was no way for me to mask my real emotion, I wouldn't even pretend.

Katie paused. "What do you mean? You're supposed to be happy for me. Everything's going according to plan." She frowned looking at me. "The plan that you thought up."

"You've gone and ruined everything." I ran my hand through my hair biting my lip. Her words were literally killing me. I didn't think it would hurt this much. The more I thought about it the more I could visual it and…

"Oh, is that what you think?!" Katie retorted her anger whipping into action.

"Yeah, it is!" I narrowed my eyes at her. Did she honestly not have a clue about how I felt?

"Explain this bullshit notion you have in your head then." She crossed her arms waiting for me to respond.

"He's using you, can't you see!" I snapped. "You're not dating, you're not anything. I think it's rather obvious _what _he wants from you."

"That's not true. Colton's not like that." Katie calmed down a bit. She shook her head. "He's not like that."

"Oh, cause you would know so damn well. I'm his half-brother." I rolled my eyes leaning back against the tree. I don't know why I was acting like this. Colton really wasn't like that… Well not anymore at least. In fact he was probably going to ask her out soon, the thought threw deeper into my depression.

"You're just jealous because Colton and I are getting together faster than you and Nikki." Katie didn't' seem angry with me anymore, in fact she looked on the verge of tears. "I'll help you get Nikki so don-"

"I don't give a _damn_ about getting Nikki." I hissed frustrated. "So rejoice moron. Our deal's over. All bet's off. You're free."

"So you're just giving up?!" Katie yelled. "You're a lot of things Travis Stoll but a quitter isn't one of them."

My rage flared and I took a couple strides forward. "I'm not giving up!" I yelled at her. "I'm not giving up." I said quietly. But I couldn't exactly tell her I've just _changed_ targets either.

Katie's eyes looked watery and she rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "I don't understand Travis. You were supposed to be happy for me. I don't get it. Why can't we just be like normal friends…? We're always fighting and arguing and…"

I felt immensely guilty. It wasn't Katie's fault for being happy. It was my fault for getting mad. How could I possibly get mad at her when she didn't even realize my feelings? When she didn't even know what she was doing to me?

I was at my limit.

"I mean friends are supposed to… and I just don't get it… why can't we be normal friends…?" She was ranting to more to herself than me and I couldn't be bothered to listen because a civil war was raging in my head.

Finally a victor emerged and I gathered up my courage before I changed my mind.

I sighed audibly. "How should I put this… Because I'm in love with you."

I mean why the hell not. I had nothing to lose. Nothing could hurt more than I was hurting right now.

Katie froze for a few moments and I wanted to toss myself off the nearest cliff.

"I don't… Travis I'm being serious here that's not funny." She shook her head taking a few steps back.

"Me too." I put my hands in my pocket. "I'm. In. Love. With. You." I stepped closer with each word. "I. Love. You." I said clearly. I felt like dying from embarrassment but I made myself look at her face.

"Travis, I… You know…" Katie stuttered. "… Colton." She finished lamely.

"You still don't get it do you?" I shook my head grabbing her hands. "This time I'm not joking. I want you. I want you to go out with me. I want to kiss you. I want to be able to call you my girlfriend. I want to annoy you to no end. I want to tease you about not shaving your legs. I want to fight over our rock. I want to steal cheese and create make up crazy schemes. I want to…" I stopped myself. "I want you to be my girlfriend Katie. Please go out with me."

Katie's eyes widened and she looked around, looking for some sort of escape route. She couldn't be here, this couldn't be happening to her.

Katie slipped her hands from mine and took off running into the forest.

"Damn it. Damn it all to hell." I took off after her. It took me a few seconds but I finally shortened the distance until I was only a few feet behind her.

She was sprinting as fast as she could her hair whipping out behind her. She was jumping over branches, dodging trees, and racing down hills.

"Katie!" I yelled adrenaline rushing through my veins.

She stumbled on a branch. "Travis?" She sounded surprised. Did she truly think she could get away from me that easily?

"Don't run away!" I shouted at her at an attempt to get her to slow down.

"But you're chasing me!" She said almost hysterical.

"I'm chasing you because you're running away." I smile grew on my face and I almost laughed out loud. What a Katie thing to say. "Don't run away from my feelings. I love you so date me, stupid."

I used an extra burst of energy and sprinted ahead grabbing her wrist. We both lost our balance and went tumbling on the forest floor. I landed on top of her with either side of my hands near her head.

"And if you don't feel anything back…" I winced just saying the words. "Then tell me, Katie." The words came out hardly louder than a whisper. "I don't know what you're feeling until you tell me."

Katie was gasping for breath and she was actually looking me in the eyes so… it was a start at least.

"Travis, you know I like Colton. You know that. I've never stopped liking Colton." She shook her head her eyes getting watery. "I don't want to hurt your feeling Travis. You're important to me too." She laughed out loud. "I didn't think I'd ever see the day where I would say that but it's true… And when you told me you liked me. I…" She hesitated. "For a moment I was really happy."

I grinned. "See you feel something too." I felt the small flicker of hope growing inside my chest.

Katie looked away. "Travis, be realistic. We would never work out. It's just not possible. We fight and argue all the time and…"

"Don't decide so easily that we're incompatible. If you don't like something then just tell me." I searched her eyes. "I know that I'm not Colton. I know that I'm not as charming or as popular or as good with words." I said exasperated. "I know I'm not perfect and maybe you deserve better." I bit my lip. "But I promise, Katie. I promise if you go out with me I'd show you what it's like to laugh every day. I would never hurt you. I'm so in love with you, please. I would never make you said and kick anyone's ass for your honor and-"

"I just can't." Katie slipped out from underneath me. "I'm sorry, but Colton's the one I want." And with that she ran away.

I don't think I've ever felt more awful in my entire life.

Right there in the forest, Travis Stoll had gathered up the courage to confess only to have his heart completely shattered by the girl who had dared to steal it from him.

_**Ohhhhhh… Well… That was an emotional chapter. Whatcha think? Like it? Hate it? Do you want Travis and Katie to get together?**_

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